On the morning of 2021 May 17, I stepped out of my tent next to my favorite Okanogan wetland to collect a recorder and microphones I'd left attached to a pole the night. It was a cool, crisp Spring morning, but the life and voices of the marsh and lake were as active as always. This recording covers the Dawn Chorus, from 23 minutes before First Light (at 22:55, 04:46:58 PDT, click the comments below to playback directly) and through Sunrise (at 50:49, 05:14:41 PDT) for almost 90 minutes of what was really hours of singing and foraging.

The wind was light, and the cool air helped project voices across the lake. As always Red-winged Blackbirds, that most North American of wetland songbirds, flew about, singing, chasing, and defining territories. I was delighted to hear a Brewer's Blackbird, a shy cousin of the Red-winged, popping in and out of the mix. Their quick almost mechanical sounding songs can be easy to miss and often confused with a squeak of a fence. They have two prominent songs, a hinge-like squeak (23:39), and a soft "shuk-shuuk" like a film camera auto-winding between frames (24:29). For the '80s kids among us, I think it sounds more like a Kodak Disc Camera, but I digress...

Also hanging out, literally, are a pair of bats just trying to get some sleep (52:14 and later). I would have easily confused their audible chatter for the Tree Swallows that harried them endlessly, but watching it happen with my own eyes confirmed what I later heard on the recording. The 15 foot pole was topped by a large bucket to be used as a nesting box for waterfowl. This morning chattery Tree Swallows were using it as a resting spot between aerial acrobatics. The sleeping bats clinging to the underside of the bucket, however, did not like this idea and would angrily chatter and chase them away, at least until they finally fell fast asleep themselves.

Speaking of chatter boxes, a Song Sparrow (23:31) took up residence on a nearby shrub and lived up to his name, delivering clear variations of his song, playing with melody like a maestro. A Common Yellowthroat (43:47) flew in and out of the same shrub, trying to sing in or around the Sparrow, but his anxious warble never quite had the same thrilling clarity.

Songbirds aren't the only residents here, though. Across the lake, Canada Geese fly in-and-out, bringing their echoing honks with them, Pied-billed Grebes whoop-whoop almost seemingly out of control (47:12).

Prominent voices in this recording include Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroats, Canada Geese, and Pied-Billed Grebes. When there's a lull in the background the occasional Western Meadowlark, Chickadee, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Yellow Chat, Tree Swallow, Mallard, American Wigeon, and Wood Duck.

Okanogan Wetland Morning

8 April 2018

A long, cold and snowy winter is finally coming to an end. Just after dawn during a nocturnal unattended sound recording in an old forest. Black grouse is on the leks, and the voices of overflying Whooper swans can be heard. Chaffinches are migrating, and the local Willow tits have begun singing. Black and Great Spotted woodpeckers are drumming, but Ravens steal she show acoustically. Feels good to be alive.

Umeå commune, Västerbotten County (63.56 N, 20.20 E)

SD MixPre-3 with stereo-matched Sennheiser MKH8020s attached to a tree trunk. Amplified 6 dB, 100 Hz low cut filter in post.

Into the old-growth forest – spring advancing, woodpeckers and Raven come alive

Calm dawn chorus with insects and Gibbons in the jungles of Borneo. Soft fog drip and occasional frog and bird calls add detail to the soundscape. Listen to more recordings I made in Borneo at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCRlYmmK1sqrM_BB3xp6quofSq7fYdEPA

Borneo Rainforest - Dawn - Gibbons

1-hour long version on Youtube: https://youtu.be/NFVI7ioUe-4

It's afternoon in Maliau Basin, deep in the rainforests of Borneo. A late Barbet sings its heart out while daytime insect calls are waning. Empress cicadas prepare for their dusk calls and can be heard towards the end of the recording. A soft mist descends on the valley as deep darkness envelops everything.

Recorded in the Borneo rainforest with Sony PCM D10, Lom MikroUsi micropohones and BubbleBee Windbubbles. More sounds and stories at https://mindful-audio.com

Borneo rainforest - Afternoon in the undergrowth

Crispy morning dawn. Cuckoo and black grouse are in the beginning of their concert and at the same time Boreal owl is about to finish his nightly performance.

Crispy May Morning

On the border between Gabon and R Congo, the thick jungle gives way to sparser savanna dotted with pockets of forest. The sound of these habitats is more open and lush than what you would hear in primary or secondary rainforest. Longer version on Youtube at https://youtu.be/QPivYjhPxMQ

Gabon Savanna Morning

Jungle mornings in Borneo are pretty lively, with plenty of birds singing and mammals calling. At Maliau Basin there are many troops of Gibbons whose calls resonate through the valleys. Longer version on Youtube at https://youtu.be/6DhT7SjelLE

Read about my expedition to Borneo at https://mindful-audio.com/blog/sound-recording-borneo

Borneo rainforest - Calm morning at Maliau Basin

This recording was captured right in front of my tent at a little after 5am on the side of the Chattooga River. The section I was camping near was very calm and saw many people fishing and tubing on the river each day. Luckily traffic was minimal this morning and I was able to record some pristine nature sounds!

Recorded with a Sony D100 on a tripod, sensitivity 10. 

Please visit my website for more information about me and my mission: www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for reading and listening ☺

The Break of Dawn Chorus (Sony D100)

Participation in the "Disquiet Junto" project led by Marc Weidenbaum:
Seamless Bridge. The Assignment: Create a 20-second piece of music to connect two preexisting 20-second pieces of music.
https://disquiet.com/0448/

A bridge between Sevenism - 777minus1 - 06 Fake choir hidden
https://20x20project.bandcamp.com/track/fake-choir-hidden
and haLF unusuaL - semI autO biO graphicaL - 04 Semi 4
https://20x20project.bandcamp.com/track/semi-4

The material of the bridge comes entirely from the 2 original sources.
Editing with Audacity.

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Participation au projet "Disquiet Junto" de Marc Weidenbaum.
Créez une musique de 20 secondes reliant deux musiques préexistantes de 20 secondes.
https://disquiet.com/0448/

Le matériau provient entièrement des 2 sources originales:
 - Sevenism - 777minus1 - 06 Fake choir hidden
https://20x20project.bandcamp.com/track/fake-choir-hidden
 - haLF unusuaL - semI autO biO graphicaL - 04 Semi 4
https://20x20project.bandcamp.com/track/semi-4

Montage avec Audacity.

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Major thanks to 20×20’s Neil Stringfellow for proposing this project. More on 20×20 at:
https://20x20project.bandcamp.com/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:
https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:
https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:
https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0448-seamless-bridge/

ABridge - Disquiet0448

It's early morning at a dry riverbed in the Borneo rainforest. Gentle fog drip creates a subtle drawn-out rhythm while the calls of insects provide a monotonous backdrop. Long version at https://youtu.be/tfP38CFtGOk

Calm morning at riverbed in borneo

Night time crickets accompany slowing flowing water as it nourishes the “River Of Grass” in Everglades National Park, Florida. The miles wide shallow sheet of water flows about 200 miles from it’s source in central Florida to it’s exit into the sea. January 2021. Two cross faded clips were recorded in AB Stereo with matched pair of Ursi Pro omnidirectional microphones placed about six feet apart and six feet in the air, recorded into SoundDevices MixPre 3 with -40 Hz low cut and 50 Db of gain.

River Of Crickets

Award winning sound recordist, audio director and expedition leader - Dune: Part Two | Mufasa: The Lion King | Horizon Forbidden West | Wordscapes

Borneo rainforest - Afternoon in the undergrowth

George Vlad